Theyyam, the Dance of the Gods.

Theyyam is a ritualistic dance unique to India’s Malabar coast. For three months every year in village shrines across northern Kerala a strange transformation takes place. Lower caste men don elaborate makeup, costumes and headgear and invoke the Gods. It is believed that during the performance Gods possess their body and speak through them. Besides being a form of dance and storytelling, Theyyam also provides a voice to the voiceless, in a deeply caste based society. Such is the extent of belief, that villagers, including Brahmins, que up to share their hopes and fears, and receive blessing from the ‘lord’.